Ericsson and Sony Ericsson Run Competition for App Developers in West Africa

Ericsson in partnership with Sony Ericsson has announced plans to run a regional competition for application developers on the Android platform. The competition titled ‘Apps for Africa’ is to run under the aegis of the 2012 Ericsson Application Awards (EAA 2012) – an ongoing annual competition for application developers worldwide organized by Ericsson Research.

‘Apps for Africa’ is designed to promote the development of innovative ideas and mobile applications from a variety of environments and situations peculiar to the region. These are expected to enable new opportunities for people to collaborate, innovate, learn, care and participate in more efficient ways that positively impact our environment.

This competition is an amazing opportunity for local talent to showcase their capabilities in the global community of innovators and developers said Gary Dewing, Country Manager of Ericsson Nigeria “It reflects our ambition to use technology to change lives for the better”.

Members of the winning teams in each region will each receive a Sony Ericsson Xperia phone, while teams in second place will receive Business Experience Packs (incl. Sony Ericsson MW600, office pro, McAfee, and a micro USB cable).

Jorgen Berg, Head of Market Unit Africa at Sony Ericsson comments, “Our objective for Sony Ericsson is to be the preferred choice for Android devices by delivering the most entertaining smartphones and adding value to people’s lives. We are thrilled to run this Android Application Competition which will bring about innovative solutions to enrich the user experience of our Xperia handsets.”

The competition is open to students and to small and medium sized enterprises in Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Interested developers in are required to register teams of two to four people online at  www.ericssonapplicationawards.com/apps-africa-west  before February 01, 2012 and submit either a video of idea or an Android based application that addresses the theme and makes use of at least one Ericsson Labs API (e.g. Mobile Location or Text To Speech) before February 28th, 2012.

The competition will be rolled-out across Sub Saharan Africa in November.  All application submissions will be automatically entered into the global competition – EAA 2012 – ‘Apps for the Networked Society’, for the chance to win a €15,000 cash prize.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Ericsson.